Inside Outside
by suzie2b
Summary: And a little H/C/Friendship for good measure. How to make the enemy believe you are where you aren't.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Inside Outside**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **The Rat Patrol parked the jeeps in an alleyway between two buildings in a bombed out village. Troy said, "Okay, Hitch, get up on the roof and keep a look out. Tully, stay here and keep watch. Moffitt and I will go meet Zahid."**

 **Hitch quickly climbed onto the roof and crouched where he could see the street below. He watched Sergeants Troy and Moffitt, with side arms drawn, move carefully, staying close to the buildings until they disappeared inside one.**

 **Troy looked around as he and Moffitt entered the single story building. Seeing no one he called quietly, "Zahid? Come on out."**

 **There was no response. Troy frowned and signaled Moffitt to check the other room while he further looked around the large main room. Not a minute later Moffitt stuck his head out and got Troy's attention.**

 **In the room was a young Arab man … dead. Zahid had been helping them by gathering information from the Germans and getting it to the Rat Patrol to pass on to command. Apparently, this time he'd been followed.**

 **From his rooftop vantage point Hitch suddenly spotted three Germans creeping along next to the building across from where Troy and Moffitt were. He kept low as he hurried to where he'd climbed up and peered down at Tully. Before he could start down Hitch heard a shot. Helplessly he saw Tully jerk as a bullet hit him and he collapsed next to the jeep.**

 **Moments later Hitch saw two Germans move in to inspect their handiwork and he wasted no time cutting them both down with a burst from his machine gun. Then he quickly climbed down to where Tully lay.**

 **The shots alerted Troy and Moffitt of trouble. They both ducked down against the wall that faced the street and peeked out the window. German bullets ricocheted off the window frame, forcing them down again.**

 **As Hitch got to Tully, the injured private was starting to sit up. He supported his friend as he asked, "Where'd you get hit?"**

 **Tully grimaced. "In the back … shoulder." As Hitch quickly looked at the wound, Tully said, "We checked this place out before we came in. Where'd they come from?"**

 **Seeing that the wound in his left shoulder wasn't bleeding badly, Hitch helped Tully to his feet. They could hear shots being fired. "Let's worry about that later. Troy and Moffitt are in trouble. Think you can drive?"**

 **Tully nodded. "I'll be fine."**

 **Hitch climbed into the back of the jeep to man the 50 caliber machine gun as Tully got in behind the wheel and started the vehicle. He gunned the engine and careened out of the alley with Hitch firing as they made a sharp left.**

 **Troy and Moffitt heard the jeep's engine and the 50. They took a chance and again peeked out the window just as the powerful slugs hit the Germans and ricocheted off walls.**

 **Then a German halftrack came around the corner ahead of the jeep and drove straight at them with guns blazing. Tully made a quick turn down an alley with the halftrack following.**

 **Well ahead of the German vehicle Tully took a right out of the alley and pulled to a stop. He climbed out as Hitch made ready to fire when the halftrack appeared. Tully grabbed two grenades and pulled the pins on both, being careful to keep the levers depressed as he waited.**

 **Moments later the unsuspecting Germans sped out of the alley into a hail of gunfire. Tully threw first one grenade and then the other. Both hit their intended target, blowing up both men and machine. Without a word Tully climbed back into the jeep and headed back to where the sergeants waited.**

 **Troy and Moffitt were waiting inside when the jeep stopped. They stepped out and Troy smiled at his men as he said, "Good work. Thanks."**

 **Hitch climbed out of the back of the jeep and asked, "What about Zahid?"**

" **The Germans got to him before we did. He's dead."**

 **Moffitt said, "We may as well get out of here. There's no reason to stick around and we don't know if there are any more Germans coming this way."**

 **Tully held his left arm gingerly. "Hitch, mind takin' over here?"**

" **Sure, Tully." Hitch looked at him worriedly, mentally kicking himself for forgetting about his friend being injured as he said to the sergeants. "He's got a bullet in his shoulder."**

 **As Hitch helped Tully slide into the passenger seat, Troy asked, "Can you hang on until we get to a safer place to hold up?"**

 **Tully nodded. "It's sore, but I'll make it."**

 **Hitch quickly drove back to the other jeep. As Moffitt took over behind the wheel, Troy and Hitch headed to the other. They suddenly heard the sound of heavy vehicles and as they sped out of the alley, a staff car and two halftracks passed by behind them.**

 **As they made their way through the streets, they quickly discovered that all exits were blocked. Troy sighed and said, "Okay, let's find a place to hide."**

 **##############################**

 **They soon found a good sized shed, big enough to squeeze both jeeps into and left room to move around them. Hitch dropped a plank into place, effectively barring the doors. Troy grabbed a machine gun and said, "Moffitt, do what you can for Tully. Hitch, you're with me."**

 **They left through a smaller door at the other end of the shed and took off to investigate. Moffitt got a med kit and said, "All right, Tully. Let's have a look at that shoulder."**

 **Tully sat down next to the jeep with a sigh. Then he unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off. "We checked this town out before we came in, sarge. How'd we miss 'em?"**

 **Moffitt got gauze and alcohol and began to clean around the bullet wound. "It happens. They must have gotten suspicious of Zahid and followed him out here. They were definitely expecting us."**

 **Tully grimaced. "What about the information Zahid was carrying?"**

" **Zahid didn't know how to read or write. He would've carried whatever it was in his head. We'll never know what that was now." Moffitt inspected the wound with a flashlight and could see the bullet. "I'm going to remove the bullet, Tully. It's probably going to sting a bit."**

 **Tully took a sighing breath, crossed his legs in front of him, and closed his eyes, bracing himself the "sting" he knew was coming.**

 **##############################**

 **Troy and Hitch found part of the German patrol outside the building that Troy and Moffitt had been pinned down in. Giving Hitch a silent signal Troy led the way to the back of the building, where they were able to find a place that allowed them to climb to the roof.**

 **From that vantage point, they could look down on the Germans as they moved about taking orders from their commander, who was standing in the staff car. Eventually, that commander was handed a bullhorn. He looked around and Troy and Hitch had to duck when he looked toward the roof. Then the German raised the bullhorn to his mouth and calmly said, "I am Hauptman Ludwig. We know you are out there listening to this, as the exits were blocked the moment you drove through the gate. You will give yourselves up or die." He hesitated a moment. Please … take as much time as you need to make your decision."**

 **Troy and Hitch looked at each other, then Troy led the way back to where Moffitt and Tully waited.**

 **Moffitt had the door open a crack to watch and saw them as they approached. As Troy entered, he looked at the other sergeant and asked, "You heard?"**

 **Moffitt nodded. "Yes, we heard."**

" **How's Tully?"**

" **I got the bullet out. He's resting."**

 **Troy looked at the wounded private where he was leaning back on one of the jeeps wheels looking pale and uncomfortable. "Did you give him something for pain?"**

" **He refused when I offered to give him morphine. He doesn't want to be 'drugged up' if he needs to drive. I talked him into aspirin though. It won't do much for the pain right now, but it'll help keep the swelling down."**

 **Hitch knelt down next to Tully. "How's it going?"**

 **Tully shifted slightly and grimaced. "It's goin'. What are we up against out there?"**

" **Counting what we saw blocking the exits, there are four halftracks and two tanks. We counted ten men with the captain."**

 **Troy and Moffitt joined the privates and Hitch stood up and asked, "Any ideas?"**

 **Moffitt suggested, "If we could cause enough of a commotion to distract them at one of the exits, we could probably make it out of here."**

 **Troy nodded. "Yeah, that's a start. It'll be dark soon. We've got time to put something together."**

 **##############################**

 **It was 11pm when Troy quit pacing and handed a knapsack of bundled dynamite sticks to Hitch and said, "Okay, we'll have to find a place to go over the wall that isn't being watched. We'll plant the explosives as close to the Germans at the north gate as possible."**

 **Hitch nodded. "Do you have the timers?"**

 **Troy picked up another bag. "Right here. Let's go."**

 **Before Troy and Hitch left, the sergeant looked at Moffitt and Tully. "If we get caught, don't try anything stupid. We're outnumbered, outgunned, and I don't think Captain Ludwig cares if he takes us alive or not."**

 **Moffitt nodded as he clicked off the flashlight. With machine gun in hand Tully went to the door and carefully opened it enough to check outside. When he was convinced it was clear he backed up to let Troy and Hitch out.**

 **Tully quietly closed the door and looked at Moffitt in the dark. "How long do you think it'll take them?"**

" **I would guess at least an hour."**

 **##############################**

 **Troy and Hitch quickly found a place to go over the wall. On the outside they stayed close to it as they made their way around to the north side where the Germans were guarding the gate.**

 **Silently, Troy took two bundles of dynamite and two timers. He crawled passed the halftrack to plant one of the bundles under the tank's track and set the timer. Then he moved about a hundred yards out and planted the other bundle and timer in the sand.**

 **In the meantime, Hitch had set a charge next to the wall as close as he dared to the gate. Then he planted two more in the sand approximately a hundred yards apart, being careful to set the timers exactly to what Troy had told him.**

 **When they met up again they gave each other the thumbs up and headed back.**

 **##############################**

 **Moffitt and Tully waited in the dark, listening for any kind of sound or movement. Tully lit a match to check his watch. He blew it out and said, "It's been nearly an hour and a half. Do you think they're all right?"**

 **Moffitt replied, "If they were captured, we'd have heard something." He could just make out Tully standing next to him in the dark. "How's the shoulder?"**

 **Tully sighed. "A little sore, but I'm good."**

 **They heard a rustling at the door and ducked down behind the jeeps. The door opened slightly and a quiet voice announced, "It's me and Hitch."**

 **Moffitt clicked on the flashlight as the two entered and closed the door. "How'd it go?"**

 **Troy nodded. "Everything's set. We have about thirty minutes before the first charge goes off." He grinned in the dark. "By the time they figure out what's going on it'll be too late."**

 **When they had about fifteen minutes to go, Hitch and Tully started the jeeps. Troy and Moffitt unbarred the big doors and pushed them open. The jeeps puttered quietly as they moved outside and stopped for the sergeants.**

 **The moved slowly, so as to make as little noise as possible while they made their way through the dark streets to where they could just see the north exit in the moonlight. Then they waited.**

 **A few minutes later the early morning darkness was alight with the first explosion and the tank was rendered useless. Seconds later the charge next to the wall went off, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.**

 **Confusion reigned as men ran to take cover inside the gate, thinking they were under attack from the outside. That's when the Hitch and Tully gunned the engines and took off with Troy and Moffitt manning the 50s. As they sped for the exit with guns blazing, the other three explosions went off at intervals.**

 **Being caught by surprise as the heavy slugs started cutting into the wall and men, the Germans were at a loss as to where to run. They now assumed they were being attacked from both inside and out, so they threw themselves on the ground and were unable to return fire as the jeeps passed by. And by the time the rest of Captain Ludwig's men could rally, the Rat Patrol had quickly disappeared into the dark desert.**

 **##############################**

 **The sun was just coming up when Hitch and Tully pulled the jeeps into a waterhole. Troy got out and said, "We'll get some rest and food. Then we'll head for base."**

 **Moffitt got out of the back of the jeep as Tully slid out from behind the wheel. With a sudden rush of dizziness Tully leaned heavily on the hood of the jeep. Moffitt was at his side in an instant. "What's wrong, Tully?"**

 **He shook his head a little, hoping to clear it. "Just a little dizzy for a second." Tully straightened. "I'm okay now."**

 **Troy looked worriedly at his pale private. The pain was clear in Tully's eyes, though the sergeant knew he wouldn't admit it. "Hitch, you take first watch, then me, then Moffitt."**

 **Tully said, "I can take a turn, sarge."**

" **Not this time. Moffitt, check his shoulder and give him some morphine." Tully started to protest and Troy said pointedly, "That's an order. Moffitt will take over the driving when we leave."**

 **Tully sighed, not finding enough energy in him to argue.**

 **Moffitt grabbed a blanket and the med kit. Silently, Tully sat down on the blanket that was spread out for him. Moffitt helped him out of his shirt and removed the bandage to examine the wound. The stitches were still snuggly in place and there was no sign of infection. "It looks good, Tully. How does it feel?"**

 **Tully replied quietly, "Sore."**

 **Moffitt covered the wound with a fresh bandage and smiled. "Just sore?"**

" **I'm okay, sarge. Just a little tired."**

 **Moffitt got a dose of morphine out of the med kit. "Somehow I don't believe that."**

" **Really, I don't need…"**

 **Moffitt poked the syrette into Tully's arm and injected the morphine. "Troy ordered this for a reason, Tully. He cares, as do I and Hitch. You're in pain and exhausted." He disposed of the needle. "Now get some rest. I'll put your arm in a sling when you wake up."**

 **Tully slowly pulled his shirt back on, but didn't bother to button it, then laid down on the blanket and closed his eyes. He heard Troy asking Moffitt about him. As the morphine kicked in, Tully started to relax as he listened to the sergeants' talk. As sleep started to take him, he heard the worry leave Troy's voice. Tully knew they cared about him … as much as he cared about them.**


End file.
